Peaceful view from above lost upon landing in Baghdad

December 15, 2006|Fred Dodd

After 45 hours, four flights and nearly 4,700 miles, I had reached Baghdad, Iraq.

The crew chief of an Army Black Hawk helicopter helped me with the four-strap seat belt harness I had been struggling with (probably to the entertainment of the five other passengers). We were making the short trip from the military side of Baghdad International Airport to the heavily fortified International Zone -- better known as the relatively safe Green Zone. Along the edge of the airport were reminders of battles: crumbled remains of buildings, the shells of burned-out vehicles and horseshoe-shaped mounds that had been mortar positions during the 2003 battle for the airport.

Moments later the bird was over the city. From above, everything seemed peaceful. Cars moved along the streets. Pedestrians were everywhere. Children played in a school yard. A group of boys kicked a soccer ball on a quiet street next to the Tigris River. A sheepherder guided his animals through the neighborhood. The scene seemed at odds with all thatÂ?s reported about Baghdad and its violence.

A short while later I was at the Combined Press Information Center. This is where IÂ?d receive press credentials before I could continue my journey to visit South BendÂ?s Marine Reserivists, Engineer Company B. Within a few minutes a news show on the TV announced that earlier in the day 50 Iraqis had been kidnapped from a shopping area.

A few hours later a two-man news crew from New York appeared in the office. No helicopters were scheduled to leave the airport until the next day so the crew rode in a fortified military bus called Â?the Rhino.Â? Just outside the airport the vehicle had been attacked by a small improvised explosive devise designed to disable the vehicle so its passengers could be ambushed. Luckily, the Rhino was so heavily fortified that it suffered no damage. The two reporters, here to connect military families with their loved ones on live television during the holiday season, were obviously shaken.